Cream were formed in 1966 by guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker and split up after a farewell concert at the Royal Albert Hall in late 1968. They were the first "supergroup", composed of former members of other well-known groups, the first major group to employ extended inprovisation at the heart of their live performances, and the first "progressive" or "heavy" rock group to attain major stardom (especially in the US). Their recordings featured a mixture of blues, pop and psychedelic styles, which made them a key group of the period and an influence on numerous bands of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

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Links to Peel

In late 1966 and early 1967, Peel was living in America and working as "John Ravencroft" on radio station KMEN in San Bernardino, yet he was aware of Cream from the very start of their career. Their first single "Wrapping Paper", only a minor hit in the UK, appeared in his "British Pop Top 10" chart for the station. He also obtained a copy of Cream's first LP, Fresh Cream and reviewed it enthusiastically in his "The British Scene" column in the station newspaper, the Kmentertainer, saying that "the album features guitar work by Eric Clapton that is certainly not the work of any mortal".

After Peel returned to Britain and joined Radio London, he played tracks from "Fresh Cream" and also featured their singles, "I Feel Free" and "Strange Brew", in his shows for the offshore pirate station. Later, "Tales of Brave Ulysses", with its psychedelic influence (the myth-based lyric and Clapton's wah-wah pedal work) became a Perfumed Garden favourite. Cream were also featured regularly on Top Gear during 1967-68, both on record and in session. On 16 August 1976 Peel devoted a retrospective show to Cream and Clapton, his comments then being in line with the critical reaction that had set in against them; but he retained enough enthusiasm for their music to choose "Crossroads" to lead off the Peelenium for 1968 and to play tracks from the CD collection of their BBC sessions in 2003.

Peel introduced Cream at a Saville Theatre concert in 1967 and later recounted how he had had an altercation with Ginger Baker - "a surprisingly violent man" - when the latter refused to end a long drum solo.[2] He also introduced their final concert. The band also had connections with the underground scene which Peel then supported, through their lyricist Pete Brown, who did sessions for Night Ride (as a poet and with his band The Battered Ornaments) and Martin Sharp, the illustrator who designed the album sleeves for Disraeli Gears and Wheels of Fire and was best known for his psychedelic artwork for Oz magazine.

Festive Fifty Entries

None

Sessions

Two sessions. First three listed tracks on each session, plus Born Under A Bad Sign, included on BBC Sessions CD

Footnotes

↑Interview, DJ History. The most likely date for the Cream gig at the Saville appears to be 1967-10-29 (Slowhand Tourography). The programme for the concert confirms that Peel was the compare of this show. It may, however, be that the altercation with Baker happened later, when the drummer was playing with Airforce at the Blisworth Hotel in Northampton (date unknown, possibly 1969 or 1970), as recounted in Margrave Of The Marshes, pg. 199. On 02 May 2002, Peel mentions the Saville Theatre gig but does not describe an altercation with Baker, merely voicing his dislike of the lengthy drum solo.